Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Marching Up From Gilgal (part 2 of 2)

This marching up of
Jesus and His brave warriors, from the place where death was given its own
fatal blow, should provide the reader of Scripture with a fresh attunement to the
words of the sixth chapter of Ephesians (remembering that the New Testament,
with its reflections upon Jesus, only makes sense in light of the Hebrew
Scriptures), and the Apostle Paul’s insistence upon taking up the armor of God,
so as to do battle with the rulers, the powers, and the forces of evil that
attempt their continued (and ultimately futile) stand to wreak havoc within
Jesus’ kingdom of heaven that was inaugurated with His Resurrection.

As the Lord commanded
Joshua to be unafraid, in much the same way, Jesus commanded His first group of
brave warriors (using the term loosely) to be unafraid of going out to preach
the Gospel message of His kingdom, so as to unleash the very power of the
spoken message itself (backed up by acts of self-sacrificial love) against the
forces of death, informing them that “All authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to Me” (Matthew 28:18b), and reminding them that “I am with you
always” (28:20b). Because of that authority, and the power that stands behind
it, it is presumed and believed to be the case that no enemy will be able to
stand.

Returning then to
Joshua, one finds that “Joshua attacked them by surprise after marching all
night from Gilgal” (Joshua 10:9), and that through this, “The Lord routed them
before Israel” (10:10a). Is it not possible to see much the same thing
with Jesus? Figuratively, Jesus marched from Golgotha to the grave. With His Resurrection however, He
figuratively attacked His surprised enemy, death, that had exerted its power
and authority through the kings and rulers of this world (having been exerted
against Him as well), swallowing it up in victory and relieving it of its sting
(1 Corinthians 15:54-55).

In this story in
Joshua, it is said that “The sun stood still and the moon stood motionless
while the nation took vengeance on its enemies” (10:13a). During the
three days and three nights of Jesus’ entombment, at the very moment when a new
and transformative power for life animated His body, in the few moments following
the Resurrection when the groaning creation itself began to take in what had
been accomplished within it, in those first declarations of a risen Lord that
sprung from a once-defeated band of disciples, and as in these things the
kingdom of the Creator God took vengeance on its enemies, can heaven’s response not be
imagined? Exalted language, such as the standing still of the sun and
moon, would be necessary to attempt to adequately convey the significance of
such things.

It was said in Joshua
that “there has not been a day like it before or since. The Lord obeyed a
man, for the Lord fought for Israel!” (10:14) As one considers the
crucifixion and the Resurrection, it would more than appropriate to reiterate
that statement, as those that cast their lot with Jesus are thankful for what
was accomplished once and for all time at the cross, and for the new life that
was accomplished and promised because the Creator God brought the man Jesus
forth from the grave. It is then possible to reverse what was said of Joshua,
and declare that because of one Man’s obedience, the Lord did indeed fight for
Israel---for His covenant people.